Farfalle with Tomato-Goat Cheese Cream Sauce

nutritional information

Serves 6

30 minutes or fewer

Mild goat cheese lends a sophisticated tang to this creamy, orange-hued sauce. Tossed with tiny green peas, toasted pine nuts, and festive bow ties (it&39;s fabulous with fettuccine and gnocchi too), the resulting dish is wonderfully easy and original. If you&39;re not a fan of goat cheese, try the recipe with Boursin or low-fat cream cheese. You can also add a grating of Parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.

12 oz. farfalle pasta

1 cup frozen petite peas

2 Tbs. pine nuts

½ Tbs. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

1¼ cups prepared creamy tomato soup

¼ cup nonfat or regular half-and-half

1 Tbs. dry white wine, optional

3 oz. creamy mild goat cheese (6 Tbs.)

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente, adding peas during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain in colander, and set aside. Quickly return empty pot to same burner (with heat off). Wait a few seconds until pot looks dry, then add pine nuts. Cook over medium heat 1 minute, or until fragrant and lightly toasted. Transfer nuts to plate.
2. Add oil to pot, and sauté garlic over medium heat 15 seconds, or until just beginning to brown. Stir in soup, half-and-half, and wine, if using; bring to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently 3 minutes, or until mixture is slightly reduced and begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Add cheese, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, or until cheese is completely melted into sauce, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Stir pasta, peas, and nuts into sauce in pot; toss well, and serve.

comments

We loved this. I used Pacifica roasted tomato and red pepper bisque and the flavor was wonderful even better the next day.

Kim Jolicoeur - 2013-09-28 20:41:53

Yummy! We found queso fiesta goat cheese which added a nice kick. Otherwise, followed the recipe, minus the wine, to a T. Will keep this for a favorite for sure!

Christine Manzo - 2012-04-23 00:39:36

Good, but a little bland. Could use some extra veggies and spices, but a good starting point. Loved the goat cheese in this dish.

Carrie - 2012-02-28 11:10:12

Loved it. So did my husband. Will try the organic tomato soup next time, but I used regular old Campells this time. I made it with 2/3rds cup milk and cooked it for about 30 minutes so that it wasnt runny as other people had mentioned. Used garlic and herb goat cheese, and then doubled the garlic called for.

Chellie - 2012-01-24 12:59:44

One point to consider: if one of your main ingredients is a prepared food item, the quality of your dish is likely going to hinge on the quality of that item (i.e. using Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato Soup will get you a rich, more well-seasoned sauce, and using Campbell's will get you runny red water...). I used the Pacific soup, and it was great. (Just FYI though, the Pacific low-sodium soup, while still well-seasoned, is much thinner in texture.)

Lara709 - 2012-01-20 23:33:03

I used tomato sauce instead of soup and added red pepper flakes and basil for a kick. SUPERB!

Carrie - 2011-11-17 20:57:37

Loved this dish after a few modifications! Added asparagus, doubled the garlic, used Trader Joe's organic tomato roasted red pepper soup (which is delish on it's own) in lieu of the creamy tomato, and used 1 tsp melted butter plus 1/4 cup whole milk instead of hlf & hlf which I didn't have on hand. Topped with a little parm & it was delish!

Jeanette - 2011-11-14 16:43:08

I used cream cheese and soy creamer, and also I added artichokes to the recipe. This was delicious! It's very quick and to make.

SJ - 2011-11-08 17:41:31

Excellent, with some modifications:
I used marinera sauce, mainly because that's what I had on hand
I added onions and mushrooms (also already on hand) to the 'garlic' step
I skipped the nuts

Chelsea - 2011-10-29 19:55:12

I can't imagine ever making pasta sauce using tomato soup. Yuck! This would be good with a real pasta sauce, maybe even store-bought pasta sauce. And herbs or spices of some kind for sure. I'll make this with some mods.

Becky - 2011-10-25 10:11:55

For those of you who didn't like it so much, skip the half and half, use Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with a little tomato paste instead of tomato soup, add garlic, rosemary and basil. A recipe is a reference, not a rule.

CongaChile - 2011-09-28 11:18:52

This dish was quite tasty. I used almonds (out of pine nuts) and goat cheese with olives and herbs (that was all my grocer had). I thought it was delicious, likely because the goat cheese has the extra flavor. However, perhaps I didn't bring the soup/cream to a "brisk simmer" because my sauce is quite runny. Oh well! Just another reason for some crusty bread!

Amanda - 2011-05-19 19:57:26

This was surprisingly tasty for such a simple dish. I didn't use goat cheese, added extra wine, and used parmesan cheese in the sauce, and about 2-3 times the amount of garlic called for. Also, I used mixed veggies instead of peas. The extra garlic and wine added just enough flavor without being overpowering. Also, in my house we always make two versions: meat & non-meat. So, for my husband, it also worked well with some added ground beef.

Sarah - 2011-05-11 23:32:19

not something i would make on purpose, but if this is all i had in my pantry, it's not bad! I skipped the half & half, the goat cheese was enough creaminess for me.

christy - 2011-04-25 21:27:32

My boyfriend is the vegetarian in the house, and I made this for him. I loved it, thought it was really tasty, but he said it was bland and only ate one bite.